Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  I was searching my prison for any way out or a weapon when West brought me a plate of fried chicken and mashed potatoes with a bottle of water. I downed the water in three gulps. I was so hungry and knew I needed my strength. I eyed the food West handed me, highly doubting they’d poison me before they got what they wanted. The smell made my stomach growl, and I dove into the food greedily. He left me alone while I devoured everything.

  I was finishing when there was a commotion down the hallway. My skin prickled as I stood up cautiously, stepping into the far corner. Footsteps reverberated from passage way, heading toward my cell. This time I recognized the intense feeling of power plowing into me from whoever was coming. It was so strong it made me dizzy under the weight. My breath became rapid and shallow, as my legs tried to hold me up. I slinked further back, pressing myself against the wall, willing myself to blend in with the shadows.

  An elegant, strong figure swept into the room with brazen confidence, making a cool breeze flutter over me. The tall woman stepped into the light, making me gasp.

  Beauty could not define the woman who stood gracefully in front of me. Her hair was such a brilliant shade of deep red there was no way to describe it. The color didn’t exist in this world. Her long strands were pulled back in a most elaborate design of braids, which fell to the middle of her back. With eyes of pale violet and alabaster skin, she was so perfect it made me want to weep. She looked young, but I knew it was only her shell. Power, confidence, and wisdom saturated her aura. She wore a long dress, which was more modern than I expected. The delicate fabric was the color of cream and flowed under the light as she moved.

  ***

  Even though I had never seen her before, there was no question who the exquisite lady was. She looked in my direction with a cool, smug smile twisting her beautiful, full lips.

  “Ember,” the Queen addressed me. My voice failed to find its way out of my throat as I continued to stare.

  “No point trying to hide yourself in the shadows. It’s not like I don’t know you’re there or that I can’t get to you.” Her commanding voice caused goose bumps to run down my arms and legs. “I have no doubt you are aware of who I am.”

  My body continued to mold itself to the wall as I watched her in silence. She was so ethereal it was almost painful to look at her.

  “The Q-Queen,” I mumbled.

  Lorcan had kidnapped me, so why was the Queen here? Lorcan said she had exiled the Dark Dwellers, and I had felt Eli’s hatred of her, his strong desire for revenge, but there she stood. Somewhere in my gut, the truth tried to reach my brain to make sense of the scene in front of me.

  “Yes,” she replied. “Now come closer.”

  Her words moved over my body. I stayed where I was, the shadows keeping me in a false bubble.

  Irritation flickered over her face. “Come here now.”

  Again, a sensation fluttered around me. There was pressure and a commanding energy to it, but I could ignore it. She was trying to compel me, but it wasn’t working.

  She adjusted her stance and spoke again. This time her voice was sweet and kind and felt false to my ears. “Let me see you. Please.”

  I decided to oblige. She was only going to play nice for so long before she’d come into the cage and get me herself.

  As I stepped into the light, she did something unexpected. She jerked away from me. Her eyes grew wide as air pushed through her teeth in a hiss, and for a brief second she looked tortured as she gazed at me, taking in every detail of my face and body.

  She quickly turned away, and when she moved back, her expression was hard and cruel. A pitiless look now hung in her eyes and heated anger replaced the shock which had temporarily jolted her. But the image of what I saw, the fleeting moment when the Queen had looked at me with trepidation, was seared in my brain. She looked like she had seen a ghost—a ghost she feared.

  “You look like your traitorous mother and the filthy repulsive monster you have for father.” Her voice was harsh and short. “You are nauseating to look at.”

  Rage burned deep within me, but the iron bars kept me from acting out. Even without touching them I could still feel their negative energy drooling at the closeness of my presence, hungry to consume my powers.

  “Your mother was right to take you away because I would have killed you … and enjoyed it. At present, I am glad you survived.” Her voice had returned to its soothing, sweet tone, which made me even more nervous. “I have been looking for you for a long time, Ember. This time, though, I have other plans for you besides a painful death. You will be quite useful to me.”

  “How?” I croaked.

  “You will be my greatest weapon against the Unseelie King. It will be sweet justice using you against him.”

  Lorcan brazenly strode into the small space. The proud, wicked look on his face drove the knowledge from my gut straight to my brain.

  Oh, God, no! “Lorcan?”

  “And somehow you still appear surprised,” he said, grinning.

  “How can you do this? To your brother? To your family?”

  Lorcan was instantly at the bars, pressing into them. “I am doing this for them.” His eyes flashed red fire before turning back to the familiar shade of green I knew all too well. “Eli got too close and could no longer make the choices a leader has to. I was always supposed to be the First, not him, and certainly not Cole. I am the rightful leader, and I am willing to make sacrifices for the good of my clan. Not even our First is willing to do that. Cole and Eli are made from the same cloth. Spineless. But I have no problem doing what I need to do.”

  “You hate me so much?”

  “You mean nothing to me. Your kind should be destroyed in both this realm and the other.”

  The Queen stepped up to Lorcan. “I couldn’t agree more, but first we need to finish my side of the deal before you can kill her.” She touched his arm, and calmness fell over his features.

  “Of course, my Queen.” Her influence rolled over him like a sedative. She could coerce him, but not me. Why couldn’t she control me? Was it because I was a Dae or was it because of my strength of will? Was this why she hated Daes so much? She couldn’t compel us?

  I felt power in knowing the Queen couldn’t control me. It gave me confidence as I walked up closer to the bars.

  “So, Lorcan, you really think making a deal with her will get you what you want? That she will simply let you back into the Otherworld? Are you so delusional you think it will happen so easily?”

  “I think I’ll be okay. It’s you who needs to worry,” he sneered and then turned to the Queen. “I am going to check on the progress of my other charge.”

  “Yes, yes, please go.” The Queen waved him out of the room without even looking at him. Lorcan turned and gave me a disturbing smile, one making my veins turn to ice. It was like he knew something I didn’t and was enjoying it far too much. He pivoted and exited the room, leaving the Queen and me alone.

  “Lorcan is not as clever as his brother. He’s too eager for power and control, but that has come in quite useful to me.” She smiled coolly. “We all have our parts to play. Yours is to burn the Unseelie King’s domain to the ground. Taking away his hold on Earth will cripple him for good. We will start with his home base in Seattle.”

  “Burn Seattle?” I gaped. “I-I don’t understand. I can burst a bulb or two but burn down an entire city?”

  “You are a Dae, Ember. Destruction and murder runs in your veins.”

  “Lorcan said you used to kill Daes, but now you’ve changed your mind. Why me? Why now?”

  “The ‘why now,’” she repeated, “is because I finally found you. You were well hidden from me, though Lily knew she couldn’t hide you forever. You are special. Once I got over your mother’s betrayal, I realized what use you could be to me in executing my plans.”

  “Everything is set, my Queen.”

  My knees buckled. I knew that voice. It had comforted and spoken softly to me so many nights in my dreams.

>   Torin stepped into the room. He had only come to me twice in person. Those times felt so long ago and less real than my dreams of him. I had almost believed he really was a hallucination, merely a creation in my mind. But there he stood, real and even more beautiful than I recalled. His hair was slicked back neatly and tied with a leather strip. He wore his leather pants, but instead of his black shirt, he wore a long-sleeved, leather shirt with a chest guard engraved with the Queen’s crest on the front.

  He was a soldier of the Queen.

  The whole time he had been coming to me, he had been working for the Queen. He had kissed me, made me feel secure. I felt foolish and betrayed by him, another person in a long list who had deceived me. My heart felt sorrowful. He had felt safe to me, comfortable, like he’d always protect me. I bit my lip, forcing myself not to cry. But a tiny voice kept me hopeful. If he’s working for her, why didn’t he turn me over before? Why did he try to warn me and keep me safe instead?

  “Oh, Torin, my beautiful boy.” The Queen smiled at him, placing her hand on his chest. Something in me wanted to swipe it away. I felt possessive of him, which didn’t make sense. Why did I feel like he belonged to me?

  His eyes flickered quickly to mine, then away.

  “Get our prisoner prepared, Torin.”

  “As you command.” He bowed to acknowledge her order. He pulled out some gloves made of a strange, thick material as he approached and unlocked the cage. I hadn’t noticed until then a robe hung off his arm. Guess the thin t-shirt and underwear I was wearing wasn’t appropriate for whatever they had planned for me.

  My eyes met his with desperation and a need to understand. He shook his head slightly as his gaze slid to the Queen.

  “Thought you might be cold,” he uttered softly to me and held out the cloak. I nodded and let him help me put it on. The robe was soft and warm against my skin. It was all so surreal.

  “Quickly, we are on a schedule,” the Queen said curtly.

  Torin nodded, looking down at the ground. “I am sorry,” he mumbled so softly I barely heard him. His gloved hands grabbed at a pair of handcuffs on his belt and latched them around my wrists.

  A strangled cry slipped out of my mouth, and once again I felt my powers being sucked out of my body. Iron cuffs. I sagged to the ground.

  “I hope you realize it would be pointless and stupid to try anything, Ember. You are no match for me or my men. You would be wasting your energy.”

  I heard her words but didn’t acknowledge them. I had no plan to fight him or anyone. I could barely keep my head up. My so-called powers weren’t the most reliable things anyway. Not that I had a clue what they really were or even how to use them. Since I could barely stand on my own two feet without help, there was no way I could take anyone on, and she knew it. She was enjoying playing with me.

  Torin lifted me up like a baby, sweeping me out of the cage, down the hall, up a steep flight of stairs, and out of the cabin that had been my kidnapper’s lair.

  THIRTY-TWO

  Torin held me close, his breath warm on my head as he carried me. The initial shock of the iron had worn off a little. Now I felt strong enough to stand, but I was still lethargic and empty. My powers were dormant.

  It seemed as if we had just stepped outside when a strange sensation tingled over my skin as if we had walked through electrified Jell-O. Suddenly we were deep in the woods, high on a mountain. This must be a Fae trick, to magically be teleported someplace else. There was no other way we could have gotten this far, this fast.

  Torin placed my feet gingerly on the ground, wrapping his arm firmly around my waist to keep me upright. Movement caused me to look up. Groups of people stepped out from the trees. Lorcan and Sam and a few others I didn’t recognize assembled to my left. I noticed West was not among them. The Queen, a dozen or so guards, and people of her court stood to my right.

  I was scared, but I was also angry. I hated feeling out of control or backed into a corner. She couldn’t manipulate me like she could the others. “I will not help you,” I said. “You cannot control me.”

  Anger flushed her face, her eyes narrowing, but in an instant it was gone. She forced a smile and walked over to me. “Oh, I can control you,” she said, her voice hard. “And you will do as I say.”

  “No.” That was the only word I could muster. The power emanating off her was hard to fight.

  “We shall see.” She nodded toward Lorcan.

  He whistled over his shoulder. “Dax, can you show Em her ‘incentive’ to cooperate?” Lorcan spoke loudly, addressing someone behind him.

  From the back of a tree a tall, sexy man stepped out. His close-cut haircut and milk-chocolate complexion offset his structured jawline and full lips. I was so taken by his beauty I didn’t immediately notice he was holding onto someone. As my eyes took in the person standing next to Dax, everything else was forgotten.

  “Mark!” I screamed and instinctively moved toward him. Torin’s arm held me back.

  Mark was bound and gagged. Fright lit his light blue eyes as they danced over everyone in confusion. Hearing me call his name, he looked up. His eyes became wide. He pitched forward trying to get to me. Dax had a firm grip on him and pulled him back. My panic only intensified when I saw the huge knife Dax carried in his other hand.

  The Queen strode up to Mark. “Oh, what a handsome man. He will be fun to play with.” She slid her fingers down his face.

  I seethed, struggling against Torin. “Don’t touch him.”

  The Queen pressed her hand against Mark’s chest. He hunched over, and an anguished cry escaped from under his cloth gag.

  “Stop. Please, stop!” I wailed.

  “Are you ready to do what I ask?” the Queen demanded.

  “You want me to destroy a city, killing innocent people, even children, to get the attention of this Unseelie King?”

  “The humans killed us for centuries. They took everything from us first. They deserve this!” A flash of unrestrained rage flared. She took a deep breath. “You are wasting my time. You will do this for me. You are mine now, Ember.”

  I looked over at Mark, who was stooped over. His blue eyes, watering with pain, looked into mine. He shook his head in a “no” movement. He didn’t want me to do whatever this lady wanted. He would rather sacrifice himself, even if he didn’t know why. I couldn’t let Mark suffer for me—for what I was.

  The few seconds of hesitation was too long for the Queen. Her hand slammed into Mark’s ribcage. A tormented scream rang from Mark, making my knees go weak. He fell to the ground and huddled into a ball. The Queen motioned to Dax and then nodded toward Mark as she moved to me. “Torture him until she concedes.”

  Before I could get a word out, Dax kicked Mark in the stomach and then in the face. His body snapped back in an unnatural curve. Blood flew from his nose and mouth.

  A sorrowful whimper seeped through my lips. “Please, please stop. I’ll do anything you want.” Tears trickled down my face. I looked at Mark again, agony distorting his features. Through the pain and the blood I saw his bewilderment and confusion. I knew he didn’t comprehend what was going on around him or how I was involved. There was nothing I could do to make it better for him.

  Lorcan smirked. “Funny, I remember you saying something earlier about how you would never do what I did.”

  “That’s not fair. This isn’t the same thing.” My voice was small and uncertain.

  “Is it not?” He cocked his head. “Well, I never said I’d be fair. I’m a little partial to getting what I want so I made sure I had a little leverage. You’re lucky it was only him. I could have added your two little friends into the mix.”

  Lorcan’s smug smile made me want to attack him. Torin seemed to sense this and tightened his grip on my waist. They knew who my friends were. I had no doubt they would go after them if I didn’t comply. Lorcan was right. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep my friends and my family safe. My choice made me feel disgusted with myself, but it really was no
longer a choice. I would protect my family and my friends no matter what.

  “Remember, Ember, I know how powerful Daes are. If you do not give me everything you are capable of, your human father gets punished,” the Queen threatened.

  I straightened, wiping the tears from my face. “I understand.”

  She grabbed my arm, her long, delicate fingers digging into my skin. “Asim, come here.” The Queen motioned to someone in her entourage. A boy who looked about twelve stepped out of the group. He was beautiful. His dark tan skin was flawless. His chocolate brown hair obscured one of his large, dark brown eyes. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

  “My Queen.” He bowed subserviently.

  “Go ahead, my perfect boy.” She nodded toward me. The angel-faced boy moved closer, making me nervous.

  “Wh-What are you going to do?”

  “Asim is an amplifier,” the Queen said. “Your powers are not fully developed yet. You need a little boost, and he enhances people’s powers. He’s been a great gift to me.”

  “You mean a slave,” I spat. “He’s merely another pawn for you to play with. He’s only a boy.”

  “Asim, do you feel used? Are you doing anything against your will?” She looked over at him with a sweet, gentle smile.

  “No, my Queen,” Asim gushed. “It is an honor and privilege to be at your command.” There was not a false word spoken from his lips. He meant every word. He probably grew up believing being a part of her court was the greatest honor in the world.

  “See?” The Queen laughed. “Now, do not speak anymore. You’re giving me a headache.”

  The Queen let go of my arm and turned around to Torin. He still held me by the waist, his thumb absently rubbing my side trying to calm and comfort me.

  This did not go unnoticed by the Queen. “I don’t think she will be going anywhere,” she said firmly, looking at his hand again. Jealousy and possessiveness rolled off her.

  Torin instantly dropped his hand from my waist, stepping back. “Yes, my Queen.”